On paper, the high school senior from British Columbia was a promising soccer player. So much so that UCLA admitted the teenager last fall as an athletic recruit and even awarded him a scholarship.
The teen, however, didn’t play soccer — and his admission to UCLA was bought with a $100,000 bribe William “Rick” Singer paid to Jorge Salcedo, then the head coach of the UCLA men’s soccer program, according to court documents and sources with knowledge of the case.
The transaction is outlined in an indictment charging Salcedo with racketeering conspiracy. The indictment doesn’t name the applicant or his family, but people familiar with the case identified the mother as Xiaoning Sui, who lives in the Vancouver area. The Times is not naming her son because he may be a juvenile.
Sui has not been charged with a crime. She didn’t respond to requests for comment. Salcedo has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney declined to comment.
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